From Wikipedia
McKenna was born 24 December 1998[1] and raised in Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom.[3] He attended the Performing Arts Academy at St Mary’s Church of England High School in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England.[4] He began taking his GCSE exams in the summer of 2015,[1][5] and was continuing his education with online classes.[6]
In 2015, McKenna entered the Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition. The festival named him the winner of the contest in April 2015,[2][5] for which he was awarded a £5,000 prize and a slot on one of the festival’s main stages.[7] New Musical Express called him “one of the most sought-after new acts” in the United Kingdom after his win,[8] and McKenna swiftly signed a management contract with 13 (the same agency which represents British indie rock band Foals).[3] More than 40 record companies vied to sign him, with McKenna going with Columbia Records.[1]
In August 2015, McKenna self-released his first single, “Brazil”. The song criticized FIFA, the governing body of association football, for awarding the FIFA World Cup to Brazil in 2014 without addressing the extensive and deep poverty affecting the people of the nation.[8] McKenna later told DIY that he wrote the song because “It’s politics and what I see in the news, and it’s just general things I feel strongly about, things happening in my life.”[8] “Brazil” garnered McKenna widespread attention, as many sports commentators found the song to be a commentary on the emerging FIFA corruption scandal. McKenna was interviewed on Sky News to discuss his views on football’s relationship to poverty.[1][8] “Brazil” reached number one on the Alt 18 Countdown for 23 January 2016 on the Alt Nation alternative rock radio station on Sirius XM Radio,[9] and repeated as number one on 30 January.[10]
McKenna spent the remaining months of 2015 playing a wide range of British and Irish music festivals and concerts in venues throughout London.[11] He played the Somersault Festival in North Devon, England, in July;[11] the Boston Big Gig festival in Boston, Lincolnshire, in July;[12] the Electric Picnic music festival in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland, in September,[13] and the MIRRORS music festival in London in October.[14]
